California: Car Pool Lane Ends for Hybrids This Summer

Link here.

After a six-year run, the yellow stickers that allow owners of about 85,000 older hybrid vehicles to drive solo in carpool lanes are expiring July 1 — this time for good.

The day of reckoning has been postponed twice before, but now that hybrids are popular and the carpool lanes are getting jammed, the Department of Motor Vehicles said there won't be any additional extensions.

"It's done," said Jaime Garza, a DMV spokesman. "This is really it."

Once the yellow stickers expire, the only Californians who will be able to drive alone in carpool lanes will be those who have white stickers for their all-electric or natural gas-powered vehicles. About 10,000 white stickers have been issued.

Surge Energy Update -- Rigzone

Link here.

Bottineau Spearfish wells.

Surge is pleased to announce that it has closed its second light oil asset acquisition in North Dakota. As previously disclosed, the first light oil asset acquisition in North Dakota closed on March 31, 2011. The assets from both acquisitions were acquired by Surge Energy USA Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Surge Energy Inc.

Through the two acquisitions, Surge acquired 100 bbl/d (2010 exit rate) of high quality, high netback, light oil production, 6,000 net acres of highly prospective land in the Spearfish light oil resource play and greater than 100,000 acres of high working interest, undeveloped land for total consideration of $21.5 million in cash.

The acquisitions added an internally estimated 205 gross (120 net) horizontal Spearfish drilling locations and approximately 126 mmbbls gross DPIIP1. Surge now has approximately 329 gross (231 net) horizontal Spearfish drilling locations in southwest Manitoba and North Dakota and greater than 460 gross (350 net) oil drilling locations in the Company.

How Bad Is The Fracking Backlog? More Than 50% of Wells Coming Off Confidential List Remain in DRL Status -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Seventeen wells came off the confidential list this past weekend (Saturday-Sunday-Monday [today]).

Of the seventeen, nine are still on DRL status. It can be assumed that they are all waiting to be fracked.

9/17 --> 53% of wells released from confidential status in the past three days are in DRL status -- usually associated with waiting for fracking.

Motor Fuel Tax Rates for Selected Countries

Eye-opening.

Link here (Carpe Diem).

Week 19: May 7 -- May 13, 2011

Bakken Potential: 12 billion barrels recoverable oil (Whiting)

Some Typical Bakken Well IPs As Reported by NOG

Helis' Henderson Well: 16,000 Bbls in First 21 Days

Dakota-3 Acquires 50+ Zenergy Wells; Dakota-3 a Subsidiary of WMB; Many TAT Wells

$200 Oil Still Forecast For End of Next Year

$150 Oil by August, 2011 -- Forbes

179 Active Rigs -- New North Dakota Record

Is BEXP the Perfect Stock? Motley Fool Asks

Legacy's Bottineau Wells -- Ready for Fracking

North Dakota Hits Oil Tax Revenue Milestone: $100 Million in 2010

Six (6) New Permits -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Drillers: EOG (3), Whiting (2), and Newfield.

Fields: Clarks Creek, East Fork, Sanish, and a wildcat.

Whiting permitting continues to follow their playbook: a permit in their cash cow, the Sanish, and a wildcat in Golden Valley.

EOG's three permits will be wells on the same pad in Clarks Creek.

In addition to these daily activity report items, there were some nice wells reported:

• 19301, 2,526, KOG, Koala 9-5-6-5H
• 18963, 1,345, Zenergy, Dakota-3 Spotted Rabbit 4-23H
• 19305, 2,640, Denbury Onshore, Hoffman 49-98-1-12-1H

Some Nice Wells Being Reported -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

19301, 2,526, KOG, Koala 9-5-6-5H
18963, 1,345, Zenergy, Dakota-3 Spotted Rabbit 4-23H
19305, 2,640, Denbury Onshore, Hoffman 49-98-1-12-1H

For Investors: Ten (10) Energy Companies With Significant Upside Potential -- Seeking Alpha

Link here.

Names listed:

• Schlumberger
• EOG
• COP
• Petrohawk
• SandRidge
• Chesapeake
• Diamond Offshore
• Harvest Natural Resources
• HAL
• Suncor

One list is interesting, but when one sees same names on multiple lists, that might actually mean something. Several of these names show up consistently on multiple lists. 

Even California Dems Want to Kill High Speed Rail -- Will Lower Value of Their Multi-Million Dollar Homes

NIMBY.

Last week, U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, a Democrat whose district includes the three cities [with some of the wealthiest enclaves in the country], issued a joint statement with two state legislators calling for the elimination of the elevated structure. She also characterized the project's ridership estimates as "less than credible," though she expressed her support for "high-speed rail done right."

Opposition to a high-tech rail line from the capital of high technology strikes some proponents of the system as ironic. "The success of Silicon Valley and California as a whole has been an ability to embrace innovation," said Scott Klemmer, a Stanford University assistant professor who is a member of the group All Aboard Palo Alto. "It's a real shame that we're seeing a baseless fear of change in our own backyard."

I assume by "done right," she means putting these "unsightly railroads" in someone else's neighborhood.

Sort of reminds me of the stance taken by the wealthy toward wind turbines off Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

BEXP Announces Intention to Expedite Drilling -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here and here (some numbers rounded).

• Will have 10 rigs by July, 2011, about six months ahead of previously announced schedule
• Acquired more acreage in its core de-risked area; additional 6,900 ares
• Currently holds 378,100 net acres (224,400 net acres located in core operating projects); up from 371,200 net acres which was 6,900 more than previous announcement
• Will increase its CAPEX to $836 million

CAPEX will allow:

• BEXP to drill 8 additional net Williston Basin wells
• Construction of additional support infrastructure
• Add rail yard facilities west of the Nesson Anticline

Current location of rigs

• Four rigs in Rough Rider
• Two rigs in Ross
• One rig in Montana

Will fund increased CAPEX with $250 million offering of senior notes due 2019